Warrior Cats
by LightningClanWarriorFernshade
Summary: Fernshade, the main character, has to go through a couple of hard choices, go to StarClan, and, well, you'll read about it! ; )
1. Chapter 1, Meet Fernshade

A Terrible Price To Pay

"Oh no! This can't happen!" I cry.

"Get her back to camp, NOW! I don't care that your paw hurts! Hurry up! She's losing a lot of blood!" said my mate, Stormfeather. He's growling at the other warriors, he doesn't mean it, he just doesn't want our only daughter to die.

"Get her to Moonstripe, NOW!" I bark at the warriors. They don't move.

"But, Fernshade, she'll probably lose even more blood. Hey you! Go fetch Moonstripe and bring him here!" he tells Mosspaw. I guess he changed his mind about hurrying up to get her back to camp.

"Kay," says Mosspaw.

I am worried sick while Moonstripe is examining Willowpaw. She keeps groaning, and twitching, even though Moonstripe tells her to keep still.

"Mosspaw, go fetch Ripplepaw, and tell him to bring more cobweb and poppy seeds! Maybe thyme too!" Stormfeather had padded back to camp already.

This is why I do not like battles. Too many loved ones may be lost.

Meanwhile, Ripplepaw comes back with the thyme, cobweb and poppy seeds.

While Moonstripe is examining Willowpaw, Ripplepaw is checking her breathing and heartbeat.

"Uh-oh." Says Moonstripe. "Her wounds are deep, and infected. But she is young, she will live."

I nearly jump for joy! I race back to camp to tell Stormfeather the good news.

"Stormfeather! Stormfeather! Our daughter will live!" He pelts out of the warriors den. Meanwhile, while I am telling him what happened, Willowpaw hobbles in, leaning on the shoulders of Moonstripe, and the deputy, Rainpetal. I rush to her.

"Let all cats old enough to hunt gather here beneath Tallboulder!" Snowstar's call startles me awake. I slowly stretch, then stiffly, pad out of the den. I immediately jump back. There is cold white, fluffy stuff on the ground. I used to hear nursery tales about this stuff. What did my mother say this stuff was? Oh yes! Snow! Hot embarrassment radiates from me as every cat in the clearing turns to stare at me. Even the kits stop playing to stare at me.

"Leaf-bare is tough, and we always need as many warriors as we can get," Snowstar calls, "Willowpaw, come here." I almost burst with pride, but first, I rush over to Willowpaw to give her a quick grooming. Stormfeather is on the side of the camp, with pride lighting his eyes.

"Riverstem, you have been a great mentor to Willowpaw, and I hope you continue to be one. Willowpaw, step forward. I now look upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice to make her a worthy warrior! Do you promise to uphold the warrior code even on the cost of your life?" he asks, " I do." "From this day on, you shall be known as, Willowstream!"

The whole Clan starts yowling her name up to the sky. Stormfeather and I cheer loudest.

"Now, Mosspaw, come here. Stormfeather, you have been a wonderful mentor to Mosspaw. I hope you pass that on to your next apprentice. I look upon my warrior ancestors," he yowled," To look down on this apprentice to make him a worthy warrior!" "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?" "I do." Mosspaw replies. "Then from this day forward, you shall now be named Mosstail!" The whole Clan cheers. Petalfur and Dustear cheer the loudest of all. We are so proud of Willowstream. She fought very bravely in the battle against RainClan. LightningClan could not be any less proud. "Well done, Wilowstream!" Mosstail tells Willowbreeze. "Now we can be REALLY great warriors!" Then, they twined their tails together and purred. "Same to you, Mosstail!" Ripplepaw pads out of the medicine den. "I sure do hope that Moonstripe makes me a real medicine cat soon!" Ripplepaw says glumly. "You guys are so lucky to have your names so soon!"

"You'll get yours soon," replies Mosstail.

"I sure hope so."

Chapter 2

I wake up to a pitiful wailing come from the elder's den.

"No! This can't be happening!" wails Darkflower, one of the elders. "He just can't be dead! He just can't! Just earlier, he was hobbling to the dirt-place, padding to the fresh kill pile! And the last thing I ever did was snap at him!" wailed Darkflower. "He must hate me now!" "Calm down, Darkflower!" soothes Moonstripe. "It was his time to go. He was old. Yes, we shall miss him, but life must go on. Here, Ripplepaw go fetch a poppy seed!"

"It's okay, Darkflower. Grassfoot is in a much happier place now. He is young and strong again." I say to Darkflower. Then she starts mumbling to herself. I leave her to grieve with Moonstripe and Rootleaf, the other elder. I decide that I should go tell Snowstar what happened. I pad up the tumbled rocks that lead to Tallboulder.

"Snowstar?" I call softly.

"Yes?" he says.

"Can I come in?"

"Yes. What's troubling you?"

I tell him what just happened with Darkflower and Grassfoot.

"He will be missed. We will bury him at sunset. The Clan needs to grieve for him."

"Thank you." I say

Once I get into the clearing, I see that Darkflower and Moonstripe have already laid his body in the clearing. Petalfur and Dustear are already there, grooming him, for one last time.

We'll miss you, Grassfoot." Murmers Dustear.

"Yeah, you told the best stories." Mewed Petalfur .

The whole Clan is in the mourning process. Just then, Snowstar leaps up onto Tallboulder, and summons the Clan beneath it.

" We will miss Grassfoot. He was the best hunter in the Clan when I was still just a apprentice." Snowstar says, "He will be missed, by kits, by the warriors, by the whole Clan, but life must go on. Death is part of life. It is very close to leaf-bare, and we have hungry bellies to feed. Rainpetal, can you organize the patrols please?"

"Yes, Snowstar. Fernshade, Waterskip, Dustear, Leafpaw, Nightpelt, you guys are the hunting patrol.

"Awww" Leafpaw groans, "I wanted to do border patrol!"

"Well," growls Rainpetal, "You got chosen for hunting patrol and that's what you will do, unless you want to check the elders for fleas and ticks." 'Fine, fine," grumbles Leafpaw. Then she mumbles something she shouldn't have. "Well, I don't have to listen to a kittypet!" She said that because nobody knows who her mother is. Only her father.

Snowstar whips around from where he standing on Tallboulder, about to go into his den.

"What did you call my deputy?"

"N-nothing." Whimpers Leafpaw.

"She," spits out Rainpetal, "Called me a kittypet!"

"Leafpaw!" Leafpaw's mentor trots over, "That is not what you call senior warriors! Especially the deputy!" Scolds Flowerear.

"Sorry," Leafpaw mumbles.

"No hunting patrols, or border patrols for you, for one moon!" growls Snowstar. "Go check on the elders, check them for ticks, change their moss, fetch fresh kill, now GO!"

Leafpaw scurries off, not wanting to be yelled at again.

"Well, what shall we do with her?" I didn't hear anymore of their conversation, because now we were trotting off, out of camp.

"How will we catch anything in this freezing weather?" questions Nightpelt, the youngest warrior.

"Well, the prey will get hungry eventually, and come out of their dens to find food. We wait." says Waterskip, the senor warrior of our patrol.

After what seems like moons of waiting, I hear a rustle up in the trees.

I flick my tail, a signal to my patrol to say that I see something. They stand still, watching with hawk-like eyes. Then a blackbird flutters down, right beside where we are hiding in the brambles. I dart out, striking it with a swift blow, then a killing bite to the neck. Just then, a foul stench hits my nose, a scent I don't recognize, but apparently, my patrol does.

"Fox!" they screech. "Run!" As soon as I turn around, I see a huge orange shape, towering over me. I cower with fear, but then, I find the strength to fight. I swipe at it's muzzle, trying desperately to remember my battle training. Just as it swipes a big, black paw, I duck, roll, and swipe. But it was too fast. It bit me. I screech in agony, blood spilling out of the gash.

Then, almost as soon as it started, it was over. The mother fox was gone. I was laying there, helpless.

"Fernshade!" calls a voice. It's Stormfeather!

"Stormfeather help!" I moan. He heard me.

"Fernshade! What happened?"

"Fox." I manage to choke out.

"Okay, now don't worry, you'll, you'll be fine. Lets get you back to camp, to see Moonstripe." I weakly get up, then stumble down again. Stormfeather hauls me up by the scruff. He half drags me back to camp.  
"Oh no!" Cries Willowstream when we get back. "What happened!"

"Tell you all later." growls Stormfeather.

"Moonstripe! We need you!" He yowls into the medicine den.

"Coming, coming!" he meows

He shuffles into the medicine den, a leaf wrap in his jaws.

"You have lost a lot of blood." He mews at last. "You may not be able to live."

Just then, a yowl pierces the camp.

"Fox!"

"NO! Let go of her!" yowls Mosstail. I know who he is talking about. It is Willowstream. Oh no, this is all my fault! I should have killed the mother fox!

Another yowl, then silence. Wilowstream slowly drags herself in, leaving behind a trail of blood.

"You have lost a lot of blood also, Willowstream." He puts cobweb on her neck, where she is losing the most blood, just like he did to me.

He coxes me into the back of the den, then whispers, "You have a choice to make, Fernshade, you can either live, but let your daughter die, or she shall live, and you won't. I have only enough herbs for one cat. And we can't go to other medicine cats, because then they would see how weak our Clan is. You have to make your choice. Two lives are at stake."

I ponder this thoughtfully, then, "You treat Willowstream" I say bleakly.

I then drag myself slowly toward where Willowstream is laying.

"Willowstream. You have been the best daughter I have ever had." I whisper to her.

"Mother, what are you talking about?" she whispers back.

"I could not have loved you more. I will miss you so much. If I could have, I would have killed her, this wouldn't of happened. I'll miss you." The medicine den starts to swim before my eyes, then I take a breath, and lick Willowstreams shoulder, and then, the den starts to fade.

"Fernshade no!" Yowls Stormfeather!

"Goodbye, my loves." I whisper to them. "I'll miss you." Then, I take one last breath, and then. The den is gone. I am gone.

Chapter 3

"Fernshade. Fernshade! Wake up!" A paw prods me in the side. "FERNSHADE!" I slowly blink open my eyes. I see Stormfeather. How can he be in StarClan?

"Fernshade, are you ok?" he murmurs. "You've been through a lot today. Just lay down."He gently pushes me down. I quickly jolt upright. I cringe with pain.

"Stormfeather," I ask, "What are you talking about?" Wait, where'd he go!? He was here a second ago. He melted away.

Then, a voice whispers from the shadows, "Fernshade, you are in a good place. Come with me." Then a cat shape melts out from the shadows. She is engulfed in shadow. Have I seen this cat before? She looks familiar. I push the thought from my head.  
"Come," she whispers. I follow. She is barley a tail-length in front of me, but she is all dark, like, half faded away. We move from a beautiful, lush forest with ferns and prey, to a dark, dank, eerie place lit by greenish moss growing off the trees and giving off a sickly light. We come to a stop in a dusty clearing. There are about five cats, all staring into the forest. Then, the she-cat melts out of the shadows again, and now I can see her features. Dark brow tabby pelt, white splotches glowing in the sickly light.  
"Welcome. These are your Clanmates." She gestures with her tail to the group of cats. They all nod their heads in welcome. But their eyes are like chips of ice, glaring at me. The blackened fern fronds at the edge of the clearing rustle. I can scent mouse. I start to stalk forward. I pounce, but land on empty ground.

"Come back here!" The brown she-cat calls to me.

I can sense something big coming. I don't like the feeling of this.

I slowly stalk up to her.

"I am Shadedleaf. I am your new mentor." At this news, I blunder out of the clearing, not caring that brambles stick to my pelt. I keep running, push through some fern fronds, and I am back in the clearing. I'm so tired. I just sit back on my haunches.

"Decided to come back already?" one of the cats taunts. I ignore him. Another rustle in the blackened fronds. A voice, barley audible, "Pssssttt! Fernshade!" None of the other cats notice. "Psssstttt! Come here!" The voice hisses. I slowly slink forward, hoping that none of the cats notice. "Hey!" yowls a warrior, "What did you call me!?" I froze. I padded on when I realized that he wasn't talking to me.

"Fernshade!" Shadedleaf calls to me. I shoot forward, trip on a root, and barrel forward and flop down.

"Fernshade!" My ears prick up. Its Thundertail! Our old medicine cat!

"What are you doing here? No matter, come back with me!" I am so shocked, I just stay rooted to the spot.

"Do you want them to find us?" he hisses. "No." I reply. "Well come on then!" Suddenly my paws come loose and I fumble forward. He catches me, I lean on his shoulder to regain my balance. He pushes me onward, I start to trot forward, but he pushes me faster, more to a breaking run. "Where, are, we going?" I pant,

"Back to StarClan."

"But wasn't that StarClan territory?" I ask.

"No. It was The Place Of No Stars."

"Whats that? What cat goes there?

"Evil cats that did very bad things. Like Lionroar."

I shudder at the name.

"No more talking, lets get back to StarClan.


	2. Chapter 2, StarClan

"But wasn't that StarClan territory?" I ask.

"No. It was The Place Of No Stars. Or, a shortened name, the Dark Forest."

"Whats that? What cat goes there?

"Evil cats that did very bad things. Like Lionroar."

I shudder at the name.

"No more talking, lets get back to StarClan.

We pad on, through the Dark Forest, and then I see some faint light up ahead. I get real excited and I sprint forward and trip on a root, again. I fall on my face. Thundertail trots right on ahead of me. I get to my paws. Wobbly, I set one paw in front of the other and slowly start to walk forward. Then, a cat leaps out of the shadows. He barrels me over, and pummels me with fierce hind-paws. I scratch his ear. I yowl in pain, he made a long scratch mark down my side. I pummel him hard, he leaps off me, and I can see his features. Broad shouldered, brown stripes on a dark gray tabby pelt,crooked whiskers, kinked tail, grass-green eyes, some deep scratches on his nose, and a chunk missing from his left ear.

"Who are you?" I stammer. He stares back, a hard, unforgiving, giving nothing away, stare.

"Nobody you need know about." And then he runs away through the brambles. I just stare blankly.

"Fernshade! Fernshade? Where are you?" calls Thundertail. He breaks out of the bracken on the other side of the clearing. "Fernshade! Where were you?"

"I was talking to this cat. He attacked me. I didn't get his name."

"What did he look like?" I describe the mysterious cat. His eyes widen.

"That, that cat was, he was Darkheart."

I mentally hiss at myself for not recognizing him. I start shaking. I slump to the ground. Darkheart was a medicine cat before Thundertail and Moonstripe. He wanted to be a warrior, a deputy, and Snowstar wouldn't let him. So he set a trap for him. But instead he got caught in the trap. But many moons before that, he killed many cats before himself to try to get to Snowstar. And he just almost killed me. Thundertail pads over and curls around me. I stop shaking. "Lets get out of here," I meow. We both get to our paws. We pad on, side by side. I forgot how much I always liked Thundertail. He had such a sad death. Killed by a RainClan warrior. He was gathering herbs, and he just sprung up on him. He curls his tail around my shoulders and guides me along. I sure wish he hadn't decided to be a medicine cat. I sure always did love him. And he did, too. But it was against the warrior code. He wouldn't give up being a medicine cat. I accepted that. So instead, I found Stormfeather. Suddenly, we come out of the dank Dark Forest, and into a dazzlingly bright forest, compared to the Place Of No stars. It's beautiful. I stare in shock at our surroundings. I whip around. It's like the Dark Forest was never there.

"Come on. Lets go hunt." mews Thundertail. I nod in agreement. When we were in the Dark Forest, I never noticed how hungry I was. There didn't seem to be any prey there. My nose twitches. I can scent mouse. I slip onto my belly. Thundertail does the same.

"You drive the mouse towards me." I mew. He nods. He stalks off into the opposite direction. I start to move forward. I hear a rustle in the bracken. It's Thundertail running at the mouse. Then, after a heartbeat, a mouse scurries out of the tall grass. I pounce, swipe it down with a hefty blow, and then a killing bite to its neck.

"Nice catch." Thundertail mews. "Well you helped." I meow back. "Wanna share?" I ask. I push it towards him. He ducks his head to take a bite, then pushes the rest towards me. I gulp it down ravenously. We carry on once I finish. We come to a stop in a small clearing, bordered by a small trickling stream and lots of bushes. I am so tired, I could sleep for a moon. But instead I force my paws to the edge of the stream and take a drink. Then, I go to a tree that has a hole in the trunk. Its already lined with moss. I sink gratefully down into it and immediately drift into a heavy sleep. I can feel Thundertail curl up beside me. I have a very rested sleep. I wake up and Thundertail is sitting just outside the trunk with a small pile of fresh-kill beside him. I slowly stretch. It feels good. There is warm newleaf sun warming the ground outside. I pad out of the makeshift den. "Hello." I mew cheerfully.

"Hello. How was your sleep?" he mews back.

"Rested." I say. "Great! Once we eat, lets move on. There are some cats I want you to meet!" He says briskly. He crouches down and gulps down a shrew. I gingerly take a crow from the meager pile. I take a slow bite and munch it for a minute. Soon, it is gone. Thundertail leaps to his paws. "Lets get going!" he shouted gleefully. I nod. He starts to bound forward. I pad after him.  
"Come on!" he yowls. I push forward ahead of him. He leaps over me to take the lead again. I start to run forward to get in front. Soon, we are racing each over to try to stay in front. He stops, out of breath. I skid to a stop beside him.

"Are we here?" I mew.

"Nope."

"Well, when then?"

"I dunno. Soon, I think." I sigh. "They just told me to meet you when you came to StarClan and to meet them. They said that they would come find us." We pad on in silence. I soon break the silence, "


End file.
